Sunday, December 4, 2011

Review: Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

From the moment she sets foot at her new school in Ireland, Megan is inexplicably drawn to the darkly handsome Adam DeRis. But Megan soon discovers that her feelings for Adam are tied to a supernatural fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that unites them could be their ultimate destruction.

This electrifying debut novel was first discovered on inkpop.com. the online community for aspiring writers. THE CARRIER OF THE MARK sizzles with unbridled romance, a unique supernatural hook, and a breathtaking Irish setting, and will entice fans of the Need series by Carrie Jones and the House of Night series by P. C. and Kristin Cast.

Let me start this review by saying that this book left me feeling terribly conflicted; so much so that I had a difficult time trying to figure out how to rate it. On one hand, some aspects of this book are pretty original and I appreciate the fact that the author was able to introduce me to some things that I haven't come across in a paranormal book before-- for instance, the story behind the "Carrier of the Mark". However, on the other hand, there were far too many similarities between this book and a popular series that I've read in the past. Some of these similarities are so small that they could possibly be called a coincidence, but then there are some huge ones that are undeniable and too alarmingly familiar to overlook.

The frustrating thing about this book is that it has so much potential. I really wish that the aspects of this story that I found so terrific could prevail over the many things that bothered me, but they can't-- they're at least evenly matched, though. Aside from the bothersome occurrences of deja vu in this book, I also found that the love that developed between the main characters, Megan and Adam, was too contrived. There was absolutely no build-up to their union, they were just like "Hey, let's run into each other at a party and make out under a tree without first having any kind of conversation that has substance". I mean, seriously, this dude has a shite-ton of explaining to do and Megan doesn't even bother demanding any explanations from him before they start swapping saliva? That's just plain silly. I can usually be okay with the whole, "instant and undeniable attraction" thing, but for some reason, this time it didn't sit well with me. I also felt like these two were way too obsessed and intense with each other, to the point of being selfish at times. But at the risk of sounding wishy-washy, I feel the need to add that there were things about them I liked. I really started off the book liking Megan a lot. It wasn't until she got all needy that I began to resent her a bit. Overall, she's not that bad, and by the end of the book I gained a little more respect for her on some levels, and the same goes for Adam. But yes, I'm still annoyed with them, because on several levels they still look like creepers.

Although this book gave me hardcore mood swings, I want to add that I really liked several of the other characters in this book. The members of Adam's family are terrific, and I would definitely be more inclined to continue reading this series if it were mostly about Adam's sister, Aine, or his sexy older brother, Rian. Megan's friend Caitlin is a great character as well, she was just an all-around nice person.

Another positive about this book was reading about what it means to be a "Carrier of the Mark", because it proved to be unique and interesting. This was one of the elements of the book that I truly enjoyed, because you can really tell that the author put a lot of thought and effort into making sure that her facts come together to clearly explain all of the paranormal aspects that are present. I admit that at times I felt like I was on information overload, but I would much rather have too much information thrown at me than not enough.

I apologize if this review seems scattered and jumbled with a side of contradiction, but as I said before, my outlook on this book is conflicted. I really don't hate it, I'm just disappointed.

4 comments:

Great review! I've been meaning to pick up Carrier of the Mark, and yours is the first review I've read which has both good and bad points, so thank you! I'll just have to see now whether i like it or not :P

This is a great review! I've been seeing a lot of only so-so responses to this book (enough that I think I'm probably going to skip it), and it's great to know the specific things you didn't like about it. Those are all things that would definitely bug me too, so I definitely appreciate your honesty. :)

It's too bad this has been a disappointing book, I feel like it had such potential!

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